Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy

Title: Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy (Children of the Red King #3)
Author: Jenny Nimmo

Initial Thoughts: that was fun.

So, I totally love Paton. But seriously, how did he never stand up to his sisters before? If he is as powerful as he seems to be, why has he just let them get away with everything? And what is it about Charlie that makes people take action? I forget if it was Tancred or Lysander in the previous book who mentioned it, but they said that when Charlie gets it in his head to do something, they find themselves following along. There's probably a slight protectiveness since they're older and Charlie is younger and they want to look out for him, but I think there's something else as well. Like, Charlie has been around the school for a bit, he knows how things work, he's getting a handle on his endowment, he doesn't need that much protecting anymore. But still, when he decides to do something, the others are inevitably going to drop what they're doing to help him out. He's a natural leader when he knows which direction to go in. Before Bloor's, he didn't need to lead anyone, but now that he's here and there have been things to stand up for, he's gotten a following. Before, he had Benjamin. Now, he has Benjamin, and Fidelio, and Olivia, and Emma, and Billy, and Gabriel, and Lysander, and Tancred, and Paton, and Cook, and Orville all following where he leads. Paton didn't stand up against his sisters until Charlie needed him to. Tancred, Lysander, and Gabriel didn't make waves amongst the endowed until Charlie needed their help. Fidelio kept his nose clean until Charlie came along. To borrow from another series (Wheel of Time), Charlie is Ta'veren. The world shapes itself around him and to his will. He draws others to him and they can't help but follow along. For right now, he is the center of everything that is happening. Even he can't help it. Trouble finds him, not the other way around.

They don't give many ages in the book. We know Manfred is a senior, as is Zelda. Charlie was 10 when we started, I believe. 5th or 6th grade, then. Billy was 7, now he's 8. Tanc, Sander, and Gabriel are older than Charlie, but we don't know by how much. Charlie thought he was about the youngest there until he met Billy, so assumingly Fidelio is a bit older, though not much. Olivia is close to their age, and Emma is right around Charlie's age as well. I don't remember how old Charlie was when his dad disappeared, but Emma was 1, I believe. I really just want to know how old Tanc, Sander, and Gabriel are. The others are close enough to Charlie's age that I'm not going to worry about it.

So, anyway, to the actual plot of the book, it was fun. We're meeting new characters (mostly enemy Yewbeams), and exploring new places such as Yewbeam Castle, Sparkling Castle, and Darkly Wynd. Charlie is learning more about his magical roots and getting the hang of the wand. The night of wind and spirits was rather entertaining. I'm curious what the rest of the normal children think of the endowed. Like, they know they can do these things, and they usually know exactly what most of them can do. They don't seem to mix much with the endowed, but neither do they seem scared of them (except maybe Manfred and his hypnotic gaze). I like that we're getting a bit of the anxiety from the guardians. Poor Amy Bone just listens to Charlie describe these crazy things and has no idea what to do so she just lets him do whatever. Oh, you're going to do something to antagonize these really powerful people but it has to do with your endowment so I don't totally get what's going on though it sounds dangerous but I'm going to trust you to do what you need to do because I can't do anything else to help you and though I'll worry for you I'm not going to stop you because how can I do anything against these people? I worry. Please be safe. Do what you need to do. Or Julia Ingledew who got dragged into this because she decided to do the right and kind thing and adopt her niece. Now she has strange children in and out of her shop all the time, is dealing with invisible boys, has her life put in danger, has fallen for someone who keeps her on her toes and for whom she would need to change her lifestyle a bit (no electric lamps, etc) and like Amy, she's a little confused and befuddled by it all, and she's worried for her child, but she doesn't really know what else to do because the endowed are kind of a world apart and she just does the best she can to support her child and hope everything turns out alright.

We get little teasers about Charlie's dad now and then. I remember the last time I read this series I was convinced that Mr. Pilgrim was Charlie's dad, but then those little bits about someone else being in his aunt's house confuse me because why would Mr. Pilgrim be at their house? I think it turned out that I was wrong, but I don't remember exactly. We'll see as I continue the series. Who is Mr. Pilgrim? Is he Charlie's dad or is he someone else? I think he might have been a friend of Charlie's dad from the cathedral so he kind of recognizes Charlie and he was there that day but he's not actually his dad. I could be wrong, though.

Rating: 5/5 Invisible boys and blue feathered boas (lol) and Billy finally coming to our side (yay!). All in all, it was a fun one.